Reading

Excerpts from the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment

This reading contains excerpts from the Emanicipation Proclimation and the Thirteenth Amendment.

Last Updated: September 1, 2022

Reading

Language

English — US

Also available in:

Spanish

Subject

History
Social Studies

Democracy & Civic Engagement
Human & Civil Rights
Racism

Excerpt from the Emancipation Proclamation:

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

The Thirteenth Amendment:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Facing History & Ourselves, "Excerpts from the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment," last updated September 1, 2022.

This reading contains text not authored by Facing History & Ourselves. See footnotes for source information.

Mini-Lesson

This mini-lesson helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies.

Lesson

Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation.

Black students standing outside in front of a clapboard school house

Lesson

Students learn about the violent responses to the transformation of US democracy that occurred as a result of Radical Reconstruction.

Black and white photo of the house committee

Lesson

Students examine the factors that led many northerners to turn against federal policies passed during the Reconstruction era that protected freedpeople.

A drawn picture of people crowding into the Fourth National Bank

Lesson

Students learn about the period of violence in the South from 1873-1876 and examine its role in influencing elections and ending Republican control of Southern state governments.

A picture of one hand holding down another hand on top of a gun and a pile of papers

Lesson

Students explore the legacies of the Reconstruction era today, reflect on the idea of democracy as a continuous process, and consider how they can best participate in the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy.

Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue with signs for Black Lives Matter

Lesson

Students learn about the debate within the women’s rights movement over the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments.

Five black women officers sitting for a portrait

Lesson

Students explore some of the limitations of Reconstruction's transformation on US democracy and learn about groups who demanded that the promise of equality be made a reality.

Seated portrait of women's voting rights advocate Susan B. Anthony.

Lesson

Students examine documents that shed light on life in the South under the policies of Presidential Reconstruction in 1865 and 1866.

Photo shows a group of six African American men and women posed picking cotton in a field.

Lesson

Students learn about the responses to Johnson’s policies by Republicans in Congress and examine the fourteenth amendment that overturned Presidential Reconstruction.

Photo of page 1 of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution

Lesson

Students reflect on the revolutionary changes that occurred because of the landmark legislation and amendments passed during the Reconstruction era.

A studio portrait shows African American members of the General Assembly from 1887 to 1888

Lesson

Students learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and examine primary source documents that provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.

The ruins of Mills House and nearby buildings, Charleston, South Carolina, at end of American Civil War.

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Excerpts from the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment

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The Debate over Reparations for Racial Injustice

Enacting Freedom

Backlash and the KKK

Shifting Public Opinion

Political Violence and the Overthrow of Reconstruction

The Unfinished Revolution

The Struggle over Women’s Rights

Equality for All

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Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights

Expanding Democracy

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Excerpts from the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment

At a Glance

Language

Subject

Get the Reading

How to Cite This Reading

You might also be interested in…

The Debate over Reparations for Racial Injustice

Enacting Freedom

Backlash and the KKK

Shifting Public Opinion

Political Violence and the Overthrow of Reconstruction

The Unfinished Revolution

The Struggle over Women’s Rights

Equality for All

The Union As It Was

Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights

Expanding Democracy

The Devastation of War

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